BIOGRAPHY - Page 1
Graydon Creed is the son of Raven Darkholme (aka Mystique) and Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth), two of the most infamous mutants, notorious criminals and wanted terrorists in the world – a fact which brought him great shame throughout his life.
Graydon was conceived during the Cold War. At the time, Mystique was working in East Berlin, undercover as a woman named Leni Zauber. After assassinating her target, she required an extraction from the area and Sabretooth was the one lucky enough to get the job. After making it to a safe house in West Berlin, the two were holed up there for a few days until Mystique could meet another of her contacts. Sabretooth was unaware of Mystique’s true identity or shapeshifting powers, instead believing her to really be Leni. Whilst waiting for Mystique’s contact, the two distracted themselves with the carnal pleasures to pass the time.
Eventually, Mystique was able to slip away but Sabretooth got word it was a set up, too late to save “Leni” though. The real Leni had been murdered by Mystique some time beforehand, and her body was soon dragged out of a nearby canal. Not realizing he had been tricked, Sabretooth went back home and Mystique quietly slipped away. Their tryst would have longer lasting effects, though, as Mystique soon found out she was pregnant. This could not have come at a worse time for her, though, and she sent the boy off to boarding school, rather than let him screw up her plans.
Despite her callousness to be free of the child, Mystique kept track of Graydon over the years in case he could be of use in the future. She often visited him in disguise, though she wasn’t as careful as she thought. When Graydon was about twelve, he caught Mystique in her true, blue-skinned form. Disgusted by this and the revelation that he was the son of a mutant, Graydon was further traumatized when Mystique revealed the identity of his father. By now it was also apparent that Graydon did not possess the X-gene like his parents, making his existence even more pointless in Mystique’s eyes. She attacked him and left him for dead, adding more fuel to the burning fire of hatred Graydon felt towards the mutant race. [Sabretooth (1st series) #3-4]
[Note: It should be mentioned that there has never been an on-panel explanation as to why Graydon has the surname "Creed". He wasn't aware of his real parentage until far into his childhood, and it's unlikely he would have chosen the name given his disdain for his father. Still, Sabretooth was far better known by his nom du guerre, allowing Graydon to claim the name without raising suspicions from his anti-mutant fraternity.]
Most of Graydon's early life is unknown, but there were mentions of bordering school and a distinct lack of influence from any adoptive parents. Despite all this, Graydon grew into a successful businessman with political aspirations, but his hatred of mutants didn’t fade. He set up the anti-mutant group Friends of Humanity, an organization that preached hateful sentiments in the name of human solidarity and protection.
After Magneto tried to wipe out humanity from Asteroid M, and with the Acolytes and MLF increasing their acts of terrorism, Graydon saw the public backlash as an opportunity to step out of the shadows. During a live TV debate, he presented himself and the Friends of Humanity as a calm and dedicated organization that was looking out for the rights of humans. His charismatic personality helped gain support for his group at a time when anti-mutant hysteria was rising. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #299]
Whilst the public knew Graydon had little love for mutants, they couldn’t have known how deep his hatred of them went. When he was approached by a mysterious man calling himself the Gamesmaster, Graydon quickly accepted the offer to join in a contest that involved the slaughter of mutants. Graydon found himself competing alongside a number of mutants and humans, all of whom all murdering mutants in a bid to score points so they could win an unrevealed prize. Going by the name of the Upstarts, the group had already gained a few notable kills, but Graydon soon found himself lagging behind, as he had yet to take anyone’s life. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #301]
Graydon sought to remedy that situation by using his resources to take out the two mutants who caused him so much pain in his life, Mystique and Sabretooth. Not wanting to reveal his lineage to Sabretooth, he anonymously kidnapped the man and planted a bomb next to his heart. Sabretooth was told that he was to assassinate Mystique within two days or else the bomb would vaporize him. Graydon then sat back and watched as Sabretooth hunted his target down. However, his plan started to fall apart when Mystique revealed her former identity as Leni. Deciding not to kill Mystique, Sabretooth chose to focus his attention on Graydon instead, still not realizing their familial connection.
Sure enough, Sabretooth and his partner Birdie stormed Graydon’s office building, only to find the human not powerless at all. To the contrary, Graydon had prepared for this eventuality and, calling himself "Tribune,” now wore a suit of armor to face his father. Unfortunately, Graydon vastly 
underestimated his father, as Sabretooth threw him around like a rag-doll and even cut the bomb out of his own chest, ending Graydon’s ability to threaten him. When Graydon refused to tell his father why he hated him so much, Sabretooth had the telepathic Birdie enter Graydon’s mind to find out the truth. Showing them all images from Graydon’s childhood, she revealed their genetic link. As Sabretooth was reeling in disgust at the concept of having a weak human as a child, Graydon stabbed Birdie in the chest, killing her instantly. Sabretooth laughed and threw Graydon aside, claiming that they weren’t so different after all. Graydon may not have killed his intended targets but he had notched up his first mutant kill. [Sabretooth (1st series) #1-4]
Feeling the need to lie low for a while, Graydon went to Europe to concentrate on his business, as well as personal pleasures. It was there that he received word from one of the personal 
investigators who was looking into Mystique’s background, that his family was even bigger than he knew… he had a half-brother. Graydon did not look on this information positively and beat the investigator to death in a fit of anger.
At the same time, he also received word that one of his Friends of Humanity contacts in Washington had been found dead. Whilst the death was ruled as natural causes, Graydon knew otherwise, though he nevertheless still travelled to the funeral a week later. His suspicions were right and Mystique ambushed Graydon there, wanting revenge for sending Sabretooth after her weeks before. His life was saved by the intervention of Rogue and Nightcrawler from the X-Men, who were covertly monitoring the funeral. When Graydon spoke to the authorities afterwards, he denied any link to Mystique. However, in a conversation with Forge, X-Factor’s Washington liaison, he let his mask slip and showed just how deep his hatred for mutants went.
In the hopes of locating his mother, Graydon followed Rogue and Nightcrawler to the home in which Mystique had raised Rogue. Waiting for Nightcrawler to be alone, Creed approached the 
man and revealed that they were half-brothers. This was news to Nightcrawler, as he didn’t even know who his real mother was, something which Graydon happily filled him in on. As Nightcrawler reeled from the revelation, Graydon attacked him, declaring that, of all the mutants in his bloodline, he was disgusted with the X-Man the most. He attempted to murder Nightcrawler but was knocked unconscious instead. When he came to, he found himself in the middle of a showdown between Mystique, Rogue and Nightcrawler. Seizing the opportunity, Graydon called in back-up in the form of a helicopter that rained missiles down on the area. Unfortunately for him, Mystique and the X-Men managed to escape the carnage, leaving Graydon to retreat to contemplate his next move. [X-Men Unlimited (1st series) #4]
In the meantime, the Upstarts game was still afoot and the Gamesmaster set a new challenge for them in the form of the “Younghunt.” Graydon and the other Upstarts were to capture the former members of the Hellions and New Mutants so they could be executed. Whilst Graydon let his soldiers (who were kitted out in the Tribune armor) do most of the dirty work, he did come into conflict with the New Warriors, who counted former-Hellion Firestar amongst their ranks. Wanting information on their missing teammate, they cornered Graydon but found him uncooperative, until they mentioned the fact they knew who his parents were. Not wanting the rest of the Friends of Humanity to find out he was the offspring of mutants, Graydon folded immediately and told them the location of Firestar and the others. The Gamesmaster’s plan was ultimately thwarted by X-Force and the New Warriors, with the Upstarts disbanding soon after. [Child’s Play crossover]